I'm working on a brand new custom stationery project, and I'm trying to step up its fancy factor a little by mastering a new technique that is really popular in the paper world right now called "edge painting." Basically you stack the paper you want to edge, figure out a way to apply pressure to the stack so the paper doesn't move, and then use a brush or ink brayer to apply paint to the stack's edges so that when the cards are on their own, they each have a thin layer of paint covering the edges. It's a small detail, but with the gold I think it's worth the extra work.
I tried two different paints, a gold leafing paint and a gold gouache that I already had in my arsenal. I also went to Ace to buy a few small clamps to apply pressure to the stack of cards, in small batches of course.
Of the two paints I tried, brushing the gold gouache with just the tiniest bit of water worked the best. The gold leaf paint bled into the cards some and was mostly just an oily mess. Here's the stack once I unclamped them.
And here's one single card. I took the photos on different days, that's why I have nail polish on in one and not the other.
I can't show the design details yet because the stationery is a surprise, but once it's gifted, I'll show the finished set of stationery with gold edging!
The whole process took about thirty minutes. What do you think? Is it worth the extra effort?
